Robles rolls, Beavers even up series

CORVALLIS - Oregon State catcher Erik Ammon has seen instances this season when pitcher Tanner Robles is almost untouchable.

The freshman left-hander was in one of those zones Saturday.

Robles tossed a two-hitter for 7 2/3 innings with no walks and seven strikeouts, leading the Beavers to a 4-3 victory over the No. 23 Arizona Wildcats in the second game of a three-game Pacific-10 Conference series at Goss Stadium.

Kevin Rhoderick got the final four outs, getting Colt Sedbrook to hit into a game-ending double play with the potential tying run on second for his eighth save in eight opportunities and snapping the Wildcats' 13-game winning streak.

After losing 7-0 Friday, the Beavers were looking for a strong outing from Robles, who came through with arguably his most dominant performance in the five starts he has made for the two-time defending NCAA champions.

At least, Ammon thought Robles' stuff was sharp all afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 2,729.

"Tanner was in a zone I've seen him in probably two other times this year, and when he's in that zone, he's just lights out," Ammon said. "He's a competitor, and that's exactly what we needed out of him today."

Robles (3-0) said he had solid command of all his pitches, especially his fastball through the early innings and his curveball late. He also got stronger as the game progressed, retiring the final 12 batters he faced in order, including striking out the side in the seventh with the Beavers clinging to a 3-2 lead.

"I felt better in the seventh and the eighth than I did in the first inning," Robles said.

The Beavers had a 1-0 lead and Robles had retired nine batters in a row when Bobby Coyle singled leading off the fourth for the Wildcats' first hit. Robles then hit C.J. Ziegler in the back with a pitch, prompting an exchange of words between hitter and pitcher that had both teams on edge.

"It wasn't like I meant to do it," Robles said. "He kind of made it seem like it was a big deal and all I did was hit him on accident. I threw inside and ... people do that."

Beavers coach Pat Casey said it was a minor incident that could have easily developed into a major problem, prompting a quick visit to the mound.

"It was ridiculous to even remotely think we were trying to hit Ziegler," Casey said. "I just wanted to make sure Tanner didn't get caught up in the hype. I just wanted to calm him down."

Robels allowed two runs in the inning, giving up a sacrifice fly to Dillon Baird and a two-out, RBI double to Sedbrook that gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead, before getting Jon Gaston with an inning-ending strikeout.

He then retired Wildcats in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh, and got the first two batters in the eighth on fly outs to center when Casey decided to make a pitching change.

"It took about everything I had to pull him right there," Casey said. "He'd taken us to the finish line, but ... it's the right move to make there.

"I love the fact that Robles went out and wanted to be there, he was intense, and his make-up was off the charts. Hopefully, some other guys can look at that say that when you take the mound with that kind of determination, good things happen."

The Beavers (19-14, 7-7 Pac-10) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Lonnie Lechelt singled to right off Arizona starter David Coulon and scored when Erik Ammon doubled into the right-field corner.

After the Wildcats (28-12, 7-7) scored two in the fourth, the Beavers regained the lead in the fifth on a two-out single by Chris Hopkins, a walk to Braden Wells, and RBI singles by Jason Ogata and Ryan Ortiz of Coulon (6-3).

The Beavers extended the lead to 4-2 in the seventh against Wildcats reliever Ryan Perry. Hopkins led off with an infield single, went to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on John Wallace's bunt single, and scored when Ogata grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.

The Wildcats got a run on two hits, a walk and a wild pitch in the ninth, and had runners at first and second with one out when Sedbrook grounded to shortstop Joey Wong, who stepped on second and threw to first to end the game.